Stephen Joffe is an award winning actor, musician, writer, and sound designer based in Toronto. He has previously been published as a playwright, songwriter (Birds of Bellwoods, etc.), and poet. His publications in 2025 include Humber Literary Review, Squid Lit Magazine, The Scop, Willows Wept Review, Lost Blonde, Amethyst Review, Dalhousie Review, Chrysalism, The Pointed Circle, and more.
You can read Bitumen. in the July 2025 issue.
Would you like to tell us a little bit more about your poem? For instance, how or why you wrote it, or perhaps provide some extra context?
Ideally never.
Is there a collection of poetry that never leaves your (perhaps metaphorical) nightstand?
Currently I’m deep into the works of Ocean Vuong. I have Time is a Mother and Night Sky with Exit Wounds on my bedside table and usually parse through a few pages every night and morning. But I also find myself returning to the works of Mary Oliver often.
If you didn’t write poetry, how do you think you might access the same fulfillments that poetry offers in your life?
I am thankful to work creatively in many mediums, all of them contributing to my overall artistic fulfillment. My work as a songwriter, especially with my project Birds of Bellwoods, scratches a similar itch. But sometimes, I admit, I have fantasies of being an accountant.
How or where or with what does a poem begin?
Usually with something impossible and half conscious my partner said as they were falling asleep. They drift off and I am left to expound upon the meaning of their dream. It’s one of the greatest gifts, and at the time they don’t even know they’re giving it to me.
Do you write by routine or do you wait for the poetry to visit you?
It vacillates rapidly. Every time I think I know how I work, I manage to prove myself wrong. I spent the first hundred days of the year writing every day. Then abruptly stopped. Then some of my best work (i think) visited without invitation. I think it’s best to run the tap often and leave the door open, but not necessarily set the table.
How did you begin writing poetry? Was there a specific inspiration or reason?
I found a small book of poems that I apparently wrote when I was around 10 years old. They include titles like ‘tears of grief’ and ‘the sad old man’. Bit much, no? So I guess I’ve just always been like this.